Strategies for deep sleep when you have insomnia

Better sleep when is cold

A.R. from Houston

I usually get about seven to nine hours of sleep a night. I am typically a night person so I do not usually go to sleep until around two or three in the morning. I will get up anywhere from 9am to 11am. I stay up reading or working on the computer. Sometimes if I’m reading a really good book I won’t go to sleep until five a. m. In that case I’ll sleep until 11am or noon.

There are several things that cause me to need more sleep. If we have been watching our grand children for several days in a row (even if they don’t spend the night), when I get a few days without them I will sleep more. Chasing them around is exhausting. When they do spend the night, I really will need more sleep when they go home because my grandson does not sleep through the night yet. I have to get up with him several times a night.

The other thing that requires me to get more sleep at times is a reoccurring virus that I get. It flares up once every few months. When that happens I usually will sleep for 12 to 14 hours for three or four days in a row. After the virus goes away, I usually only sleep for about 5 or 6 hours a night for several days.

I don’t usually have difficulty falling asleep but I do have a hard time staying asleep. I get night sweats. I have to have the room at least 70 degrees and have a fan blowing on me or else I will have a very restless sleep. I sleep better during the winter when I can have my window open and I’m covered with a nice thick blanket. My bed is right under the window. That is when I sleep the deepest and feel the most rested.